Articles Posted in Immigration News

Today is a very special day for the United States of America. First, we as a nation are celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his goals of equality for all Americans by marking this day as a Federal Holiday. On this same day, we as a nation are witnessing the second Inauguration of President Barack Obama and the 57th Presidential Inauguration. Here, we celebrate the same goal of equality for all Americans by the peaceful passing of power from one American Citizen to another or in this case the re-election of that citizen.

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” – Abraham Lincoln

On January 7th the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) introduced a new online USCIS Policy Manual. They released the first volume, Citizenship and Naturalization and plan on releasing many other volumes as development progresses. The policies included in this volume will take effect on 1/22/2013, but are available online now.

“With the introduction of the Policy Manual, we take a further step to provide our customers, stakeholders and workforce with an efficient and effective adjudication process that provides a high level of quality and consistency,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas.

For more information please read the USCIS News Release on this subject. There is also a video available, the USCIS Policy Manual Video.

The United States Embassy is pleased to announce the expansion of its Business Facilitation Program (BFP) that allows access to expedited visa processing for employees of qualifying firms traveling to the U.S. on company business. The BFP will provide time-saving benefits for businesses whose employees need to travel to the U.S., and highlights the United States’ commitment to deepening trade and economic engagement with Mexico.

The BFP is open throughout Mexico and is available at all U.S. Consulates and the Embassy. The BFP requires interested firms to register with the U.S. Embassy’s or Consulates’ Consular Section.

For more information please read the Embassy of the United States / Mexico Press Release on the subject.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) National Customer Service Center (NCSC) has expanded hours for its toll-free telephone assistance (1-800-375-5283) to include Saturday hours. This expanded service started on Saturday, 1/12/2013. They will now be taking calls Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information please read the USCIS Alert on the subject.